Chapter 39: Princess Iron Fan (1)
Amon looked at kidnapped people for the offering and spoke.
“Wuma is dead.”
“I heard.”
Amon closed his eyes at Dmitri’s answer and asked, “Do we have anyone we can send that’s stronger than Wuma?”
“There aren’t any among our possible options.”
“Why is that?”
“Multiple Avatars are keeping their pressure on us. They are watching us because of what we did when we kidnapped those offerings last time.”
“So you can’t make a move?”
“If I send anyone from the 3rd or higher generation, I’ll have to prepare for war against Avatars all around the world. And we can’t stand a chance against them yet.”
“Yet.”
Amon sighed and opened his eyes.
“We’ll move onto the next option then.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Keep watching the offerings from Korea. I did not think Bihyung would be strong enough to kill Wuma, but what’s done is done. We can’t lose focus because of that problem.”
Amon continued as he looked over the offerings, “We’ll proceed with the 1st stage selection among these offerings. And we will start the ritual.”
Amon then turned and looked at Dmitri.
“Are you worried?”
“I only do as you say.”
“Good. That’s what you should do. The problem in Korea will solve itself in one way or another. And don’t worry too much about the other Avatars. My friends are working to bring you the freedom you need.”
Dmitri flinched at the word ‘friend’. He was a 1st generation vampire, one of the highest ranking Avatars, but just thinking about Amon’s friend gave him chills.
“Our day will come.”
Dmitri smiled at Amon’s prophetic words.
At the highest floor of Shanghai Tower, Wangjinjin looked at the woman sitting in front of her. She wore a black suit and round hat which she tipped over. She then tapped on her cigar on the ashtray and said, “Wang. Do you know why I’m here?”
Wangjinjin took a sip of the champagne and looked at her. Somi was the Avatar of Princess Iron Fan and Wuma’s wife. She could hire Wuma for money but Somi was different. She owned a large steel company and she had an abundance of money.
“Is it because of Wuma?”
“Yes. My husband… honestly, I know he’s a type who set out to do what he wants, rather than doing things for money. But I heard the reason why he went to Korea is because of you.”
“Yes. I asked him to go.”
Somi’s eyes turned cold. She let out a cloud of smoke toward Wangjinjin. Wangjinjin’s eyebrows squirmed but Somi did not care.
“I know he owed you. That’s probably why he accepted. And I couldn’t even find his body.”
Wangjinjin then put down her glass and bowed.
“I am sorry.”
Somi glared at Wangjinjin and tossed her cigar into Wangjinjin’s glass. She spoke as she rose up from her seat.
“I’ll deal with you after I take care of my husband’s matter. I will not let this one go.”
Wangjinjin did not raise her head. Somi left the room and Wangjinjin threw the champagne glass onto the ground, shattering it. She then snuffed the wet cigar and turned out to the window. Things got messed up because Wuma was killed.
“At least she’ll deal with Korea.”
If Somi was going to avenge her husband, it wasn’t going to end cleanly. Wangjinjin thought of going there after Somi killed the Avatar of Korea and brought the offerings from there. Maybe it was actually going to work out well for her.
“Ugh.”
Woojin sprawled on the ground and Yeohong asked, “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.”
Woojin pushed himself up from the ground. They sparred as promised. Woojin thought his increased strength and trained body would allow him to fight against Yeohong without much trouble, but Yeohong’s expert level of martial arts and her never-ending stamina was too much for Woojin to handle right now. He didn’t technically lose yet, but he was out of energy.
Yeohong reached out to Woojin and he grabbed her hand to stand up.
“You were better than I expected.”
Woojin then smiled bitterly.
“I’m training. Let’s fight again when I train more.”
“Yeah. But are you really human?”
“Of course.”
“How can you be so strong?”
Woojin seemed to be too strong to be considered a normal human. Yeohong figured it would be easy to just pull Woojin with her Dokkebi strength, but he resisted.
“It’s a secret.”
As Woojin spoke and moved, he heard his phone ringing from the bag.
[Where are you?]
“I’m training.”
[Can you come to the lab right now?]
“I’ll go right away.”
If Doctor Ahn called him first, that meant there was some progress. Yeohong asked, “Where are you going?”
“I have to go somewhere.”
“That’s disappointing. I thought maybe we could have a drink.”
“Yeah. We’ll have one later.”
Woojin then rode his bike down to Doctor Ahn’s lab. Doctor Ahn was drinking tea with a disappointed expression. Woojin glanced at Brunhilde but she was silent. Even after Woojin took a seat and drank a sip of the tea, Doctor Ahn was still quiet. Woojin called out first, “Doctor?”
“Can I take some of your blood?”
“My blood?”
“I’ve found the best combination from what you brought. I have to check if it will take your blood or not. If it can, we can finally test it out.”
“Is it for the Avatar Project?”
Doctor nodded and Woojin felt his heart begin to pound. They had gotten to the hint of Avatar Project in the past, but they did not have time. However, they were now very close. Woojin put his arm out. Doctor Ahn brought a syringe and drew Woojin’s blood.
“I’ll have to run some tests. If it proves to be stable, we’ll talk about the process then.”
“Of course. But can I ask why you look so down?”
“Me?”
Doctor Ahn turned to the blood that he pulled out and said, “Mine didn’t match.”
Woojin couldn’t say anything. He knew how badly Doctor Ahn wanted to become an Avatar himself.
“Doctor. The Avatar Project is not a one time test.”
Doctor Ahn then turned to Woojin. He added, “I’ll keep bringing materials you need so you can continue researching. Please don’t stop.”
Doctor Ahn then realized it wasn’t over yet by looking at Woojin’s determined expression. He was so happy when he finalized the test combination, but it didn’t seem to match him so he called Woojin. If that didn’t work either, then he had to start over again.
“I just hope this will work on you.”
If it worked, it was going to be fortunate. Woojin also hoped for the best.
That’s when his phone rang. It was Bihyung.
[Come to me right away.]
“Is there a problem?”
[Yeah.]
Woojin then answered, “I’ll be there soon.”
Woojin turned to Doctor Ahn and asked, “How long it will take?”
“At least a day.”
“Call me right away when you get the results.”
“Don’t worry. I also want to know if a human can become an Avatar.”
Woojin then went to Bihyung’s penthouse. Bihyung pointed to the screen right away when Woojin arrived. Woojin frowned at the woman shown on the screen.
“Somi?”
“As expected, you know her.”
Bihyung gulped the whiskey down.
“Wuma’s wife. Owner of Pungchun Steels. Somi, the Avatar of Princess Iron Fan.”
Woojin was confused.
“Is she in Korea?”
“Yeah. I put some eyes on China after Wuma died, so I caught her right away.”
In the past, Somi did not move for Wuma’s revenge when he died. Why was she making a move this time?
“Was she on good terms with her husband?”
“Wuma’s always out for his work, but they weren’t bad with each other. They actually looked like a loving husband and wife from the outside.”
Woojin then held up the glass and drank the whiskey.
“What do you think she’ll do?”
“I have tails on her. She’s staying still at a hotel for now.”
“She’s different from Wuma.”
“Yeah.”
Wuma went straight for Eunseo when he arrived, but Somi did not.
“Did she call you then?”
“No.”
It was normal for Somi to not notify Bihyung of her arrival when she knew it was Bihyung who killed her husband. Woojin said, “It’s not good. Fire against wind?”
“Are you worried about me?”
“We need to be prepared for the worst.”
Bihyung placed his back on the sofa and placed his leg on the table and mumbled, “Yeah, she uses wind, but I can still handle her. She’s not Wuma.”
Wuma had extensive battle experience due to his work. If it wasn’t for Woojin’s help, Bihyung would not have managed to kill Wuma. Unlike Wuma, however, Somi might be easier even if she used the power of the wind.
Woojin looked at Somi and thought. Why was she here? Was she really here to fight Bihyung? Or was she after his sister?
“I’ll go to Eunseo. Call me when she makes a move.”
“Will do.”